Betsy Sharkey

ColumnistWriter

Former Los Angeles Times film critic Betsy Sharkey is an award-winning entertainment journalist and bestselling author. She left the newsroom in 2015. In addition to her critical essays and reviews of about 200 films a year for The Times, Sharkey’s weekly movie reviews appeared in newspapers nationally and internationally. Her books include collaborations with Oscar-winning actresses Faye Dunaway on “Looking for Gatsby” and Marlee Matlin on “I'll Scream Later.” Sharkey holds a degree in journalism and a master’s in communications theory from Texas Christian University.

Recent Articles

It is strange to think of "Two Days, One Night" as a thriller. The new drama from Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the accomplished Belgium filmmaking brothers, stars French actress Marion Cotillard as a factory worker trying to win her job back. But a thriller is exactly what they've created, setting...

"Still Alice," anchored by Julianne Moore's remarkable disappearing act as a linguistics professor suffering from the early onset of dementia, is moving into more theaters as its star's performance continues to pile up accolades. There are no doubt a thousand different ways to deal with the confusion...

While it's always tempting to rush out to see all the new, fresh-cut movies landing in theaters this week, consider skipping the crush to play a little catch-up. There are so many excellent films still hanging around the multiplexes, something for nearly everyone's taste. If you're in the mood...

"Into the Woods," the deliciously arch, deceptively deep, fractured fairy tale with its soaring Sondheim showstoppers, has made it to the big screen virtually untouched by Hollywood's big, tall, terrible giants, whose meddling can so often make a mess of things. As you'd expect, the woods have...

Whether leaving his mark with the bizarre yet sweet sentimentality of "Edward Scissorhands" and "Beetlejuice," the brilliant Oscar-nominated stop-motion animation of "Frankenweenie" and "Corpse Bride," or the brashness of his "Batman" reboots, Tim Burton has always been one of film's boldest visionaries....

It is doubtful that moviegoers who make their way to theaters showing “The Interview” on Christmas Day — in Southern California at select Regency Theaters and the Los Feliz 3 as of this writing — are going to check out the comedy. The cause celebre of the R-rated slapstick starring James Franco...

We live in a time when even frivolous pop-culture touchstones are blown out of proportion, from Grumpy Cat’s pout to Kim Kardashian's booty. But not in a million years did I imagine the R-rated lunacy of “The Interview” would become the flashpoint for a viral war on free speech, democracy and America...

Like voices crying in the wilderness — rising above that vast wasteland of movie mediocrity — came the roar of the auteurs in 2014. A rangy group with varying aesthetics, they've left an indelible imprint on cinema despite the 400 or so of the marginal that clogged our theaters and muddled our...